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Friday, July 8, 2011

It all started on the 4th of July.I was walking around the 4th of July Parade with a little tray inspired by vintage cigarette girls.
Way better than cigarettes, the tray was full of cake pops that I was selling.
And mini raspberry pies that I attached to a spoon.

As I passed the crowds in my white halter dress I giggled, "It's the cupcake parade!"
I got a few laughs out of that.
I heard a lots of kids saying, "I want one!"

Pie is good. Pie is great. So are cupcakes. And cake pops. Cookies. Sugar in general. ♥
There is this huge battle right now in the media.
Are cupcakes dying? Is pie the next big "thing?"

A lot of people in my area ask me where the old school bakeries went.

This is where I came up with the mini pies on a spoon.
They are sort of like a cupcake. A small serving, but it is very tasty and so filling!
And *adorable.*

There is something about eating a pie off of a spoon that makes life an indulgent treat. If even for that mini moment.

You can try it too!

Most important Ingredient: Love and Patience. Love always makes everything I make taste better.My favorite fruits to use inside of this mini pie so far: Strawberries and Raspberries.

Slice strawberries. They don't need to be perfect little slices. It is ok if there are chunks. Eating a pie with random different chunks & shapes of strawberries is more fun!

1. In a pan on the stove, whisk sugar and cornstarch together
2. Add Corn Syrup & Water
3. Continue to whisk until boiling.
4. Once boiling, whisk for 5 minutes continuously.
5. Take off stove and add Jello.
6. Let the mixture cool.
7. Once cooled, add strawberries to the mixture.
8. Then add to your mini pies! You can cut a large opening into the end of your pastry bag & pipe the filling into your mini pies. Or just use a spoon. It's really up to you. ♥

Pie Crust:

I used a pre-made, roll out pie crust for these. (Pillsbury is the best!) If I feel very motivated, my pie crust recipe from scratch is a magical secret handed down to me from a friend.
I recommend you use a pie crust recipe that has a story like this behind it if you are going to make one from scratch! It just adds the *LOVE*.

1. Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.

2. I cut the pie crust into mini squares with my pastry cutter and formed them into muffin shapes in the mini cupcake pan.You can flute the edges if you want to get really fancy schmancy.

3. I filled them with the yummy strawberry pie filling and used my left over pie crust to lattice the top of the pie. ♥

4. I baked my mini pies in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes. And another 15 minutes at 350 or until golden brown.

5. I removed the mini pies from the oven and let them cool for about 45 minutes.

This is where all the cuteness comes together:

You will need:
Woodsies (A Package of Wooden Craft Spoons you can get at your local craft store)
Parchment Paper
Candy Wafers (I chose red because it looks pretty)
A Melting Pot or a bowl & a Microwave
Pretty Ribbon

1. Line your countertop with parchment paper.2. Line up all of your sweet mini pies in a row on top of the parchment paper.3. Melt your candy wafers in a melting pot or for 30 seconds in a bowl in the microwave.3. Take out your wooden spoons.4. Dip the wide "spoon end" in the melted candy wafers.5. Immediately "glue" the spoon to the pie like shown here:

So adorable.
Let the spoon on the pie cool for about 15-20 minutes.
If this is for a gift, you can tie a ribbon to the spoon.
Or if the pie is for you, just eat it and enjoy!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Maeve is a bright eyed, sweet baby girl.
The first time I met her she smiled at me, and the entire room lit up. I fell in love!

I was so honored that her mom (my friend Kelly-we go alllll the way back to the days of high school).. asked me to make cupcakes for Maeve's very 1st birthday celebration this past 4th of July weekend.

Kelly really wanted the cupcakes to be patriotic. But she knew that Maeve had to have pink.
That was easy. I just switched out the red with pink.
I love that Kelly also asked me to create a "Chef's selection" for Maeve.

I really take advantage of the moment when people give me a few ideas, and then just let me go crazy with my own inspiration. For me, this freedom is when most of my cupcake magic takes place. I can let the Amanda love just pour out into whatever it is that I am baking..and swirling, sprinkling, or sparkling.

Maeve's cupcakes were truly magical. Not because I created them. But because Maeve has this brand new sweet energy that I bottled up when I met her. (Don't we all try to bottle up some of that energy we used to have as babies?) I knew I could feed that energy right back to her in cupcake form. And I am sure she played with the cake and frosting. Just what these cupcakes were meant for! ♥ A 1st birthday.

These are the true "Amanda Cupcake" style cupcakes. Stacks and textures of yummy frosting.

Swirls & Twirls and Endless Dollops of Frosting.
Lots of Frosting to play with ♥

I striped some of the cupcakes pink, white & blue. They looked really pretty from the outside of the white cupcake liner. To do this, it's really simple. You just color your cake batter in three different fave colors and stack each color on top of each other into your cupcake liner before baking. (Use a pastry bag for each color-it is easier to pipe into the cupcake liner).

Part of enjoying life (which Maeve already learned on her first birthday!) is getting to eat the fancy frills. ♥

Amazing: Eating a cupcake with perfect little swirls on top for dinner. Double the amazing: Eating the chocolate #1 off a stick for dessert.

Baby, you're a firework. Come on let your colors burst.

I added a pink swirl to the peanut butter frosting.

I call this the cupcake that wants to be a birthday cake.

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Stacks and stacks of love.
An Oreo cookie on the inside bottom of the cupcake. The Cupcake itself. Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Buttercream. Another Oreo. And a non-pareil dot.

﻿

This is what a firework would look like if it was made out of sugar.

Per Kelly's request, the "Chef's Selection."

Way better than what you can buy at the grocery store in the box.

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I am all about using lollypop sticks to make my own cupcake toppers. This time the cupcake toppers were Maeve ♥

♥

About Me, The Sweet Dreamer:

My name is Amanda Wright, but I always say my superhero name is Amanda Cupcake. I bake pieces of my glittery heart in each recipe that I create.I am originally from a small town in Wisconsin (Waupaca).I moved out to California to follow my dreams of becoming a fashion designer.After about 8 years of living in California, working in the fashion industry, I moved back home after facing some hardships with my family's health. I assumed I'd be moving back to California again (I love it there), but when I started baking cupcakes to make myself and others around me happy during difficult times, my hometown in Wisconsin accepted me as their own fashion designer for cupcakes! I always say now that I dress cupcakes instead of people. I use my background in fashion and my childlike imagination as inspiration to create fantastical cupcake creations, truly meant to make people happy more than anything else. ♥ I have giant cupcake sized sweet dreams, and this blog is a place for me to share them with you. A few leaders I look up to in all that I do are Walt Disney, Betsey Johnson, and Willy Wonka.